RUGBY Offices

Private Client Department, Address: 16 Church Street, RUGBY, CV21 3PW, Telephone: + 44 (0) 1788 579 579, Fax: +44 (0) 1788 570 949

Conveyancing Department, Address: 26 Regent Street, RUGBY, CV21 2PS, Telephone: + 44 (0) 1788 551 611, Fax: + 44 (0) 1788 551 597

Commercial/ Wills, Trusts & Probate Departments, Address: The Robbins Building, 25 Albert Street, RUGBY, CV21 2SD, Telephone: + 44 (0) 1788 579 579, Fax: + 44 (0) 1788 552 888

LONDON Offices

2nd Floor Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6BD, Telephone enquiries: +44 (0) 2078876590, Fax number: +44 (0) 207 8876001

BANBURY Offices

Strathmore House, Waterperry Court, Middleton Road, BANBURY, OX16 4QD, General Telephone enquires: + 44 (0) 1295 270999


Bribery Act update


The Bribery Act has received Royal Assent, but its implementation (due on 6th April 2010) has been delayed once again pending the publishing of government guidance to render it ‘practical and comprehensive for business’ (31st January 2011).

The Act, which regulates the conduct of UK businesses both at home and abroad (where at least part of the business is located in the UK) principally:

  • Extends the crime of bribery to private (as well as public) sector transactions; and
  • Requires commercial organisations to take steps to prevent bribery;

The Act creates four key offences which can be summarised as follows:

  1. ‘Active’ bribery (i.e. offering, promising or giving a bribe)
  2. ‘Passive’ bribery (i.e. requesting or accepting a bribe)
  3. Bribing a foreign public official
  4. Failing (in the case of a commercial organisation) to prevent bribery

The only defence available to a commercial organisation is to evidence that it had "adequate procedures" in place to prevent the offence being committed by the associated person.

Penalties

The penalties for breaching the Act are potentially severe;

  • Individuals – Unlimited fine/ Imprisonment of up to 10 years.
  • Commercial Organisations – Unlimited fine/ Disqualification of directors/ Disqualification from Public Contract tenders.

Common risks

Common areas of risk for many businesses are:

  • Corporate hospitality and gifts: There can be no hard or fast rule, but overly extravagant corporate hospitality and the giving/ receiving of valuable gifts might be seen as bribery, especially in dealings with foreign public officials.
  • Public procurement: If convicted of "active corruption" an organisation will be debarred from carrying out public contracts throughout Europe.
  • Facilitation payments: So-called ‘grease’ payments intended to secure the expedition of certain duties are commonplace in some countries. However, the making of such payments will be an offence under the Act (which now has jurisdiction).

Practical Steps to Compliance

Most businesses will, in the first instance, wish to review their staff handbooks to implement and provide training on a robust anti-corruption policy and to confirm any breach as gross misconduct.

Many will also conduct a review of their commercial terms to ensure that business partners are contractually obliged to comply with good practice and to ensure that an ‘adequate procedures’ defence can be made out, if necessary.